Shame-aholics Anonymous

Fat shaming used to be the “in” thing. Then it was skinny shaming. Now it’s everything shaming. Body shaming, fit shaming and slut shaming…and it’s not just for women anymore.

There are a million memes floating around that say things like “Real women have curves, only dogs go for bones”, “You’re Fat. Don’t sugar coat it, cause you’ll eat that too”, and “Did you see what she was wearing? She’s asking for it”.

It’s no surprise that the majority of us in the world today are OBSESSED with our body image, and most often, feel like shit about it. Aaaand to be honest, we all shame one another, and ourselves, whether we realize it or not.

Tina Fey in Mean Girls says it best: “You all have got to stop calling each other sluts and whores. It just makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores.”

But guess what? I’m not here to shame you about it! I’m here to help change our body shaming into body praising. We need to praise our bodies for all that they do for us, not shame them for what they don’t do for us.
We need to take care of our bodies and nourish them. We need to eat healthy, and move the ways that feel best for us. We need to look at our bodies in a new light, and see them for what they are: our vessels to do good in this world.

It’s your choice: love your body like the temple it is, or hate it.

If you choose to love your body, here are some tricks I have found useful to get you started:

• Eat healthy food you enjoy. If you try to survive on nothing but kale and broccoli, and the thought of eating nothing but kale and broccoli makes you want to scream, don’t do it. If you love kale and broccoli, giv’r!

• Move in ways that feel good to you. If you love to run, run. If you love to dance, have a no pants dance party in your living room. If exercising with a friend is what floats your boat, do more of that. Don’t punish yourself doing hours and hours of painful workouts that you hate just to attain that “perfect body”. That just sounds like another way of body shaming to me.

• Hang out in your birthday suit more often. If you have no roommates, walk around the house naked. Do dishes naked. Cook naked (for the love of delicious salty meats, don’t cook bacon without clothes on!). Eat naked. Dance naked! The more time we spend in our skin, the more we accept it.

• Point out your favorite body parts of yourself, and praise them. Thank them. Love them. I personally love my lips. I duck face in the mirror all the time with myself. Cool? Not even a little bit. Uplifting? You better believe it. It also helps me get out of a bitchy mood, watching myself be a little ridiculous (with myself).

And above all, remind yourself that nobody is perfect, and not one person has the exact same body as another. We all have a unique genetic makeup, which means no matter how many crunches we do, we might not get the six pack that another person can attain. And guess what? Either way is cool. You are beautiful as you are, right now. You are enough, as you are right now.

Repeat after me: I am pretty enough. I am smart enough. I am sexy enough. I am strong enough. I AM ENOUGH. And so is every other woman on this planet.

I’m committing to try and be more accepting of myself and every other woman I meet. I’m committing to taking care of my body. I am committing to not comparing myself to anyone else. I am committing to love myself, and every other person I come across. How about you?

Mandy Grier is a tattooed, glitter loving, rock and roll girl at heart, who also happens to be a Certified Life Coach over at Reckless Bliss. She has always been a bit of a fire starter, and doesn’t believe in taking anyone’s shit. She believes strong, courageous and rebellious women can change the world. Her base camp is in the woods in Northern B.C. which she shares with her husband, son and two pug babies.

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Mandy Grier is a tattooed, glitter loving, rock and roll girl at heart, who also happens to be a Certified Life Coach over at Reckless Bliss. She has always been a bit of a fire starter, and doesn’t believe in taking anyone’s shit. She believes strong, courageous and rebellious women can change the world. Her base camp is in the woods in Northern B.C. which she shares with her husband, son and two pug babies.